This technology has a potential use for residential or commercial radiant heating systems using
lower-cost materials of construction.
Next-generation heat-pipe radiator
technologies are being developed at the
NASA Glenn Research Center to provide
advancements in heat-rejection systems
for space power and propulsion systems.
All spacecraft power and propulsion
systems require their waste heat to
be rejected to space in order to function
at their desired design conditions. The
thermal efficiency of these heat-rejection
systems, balanced with structural
requirements, directly affect the total
mass of the system.

Previously reported equations are generalized to account for a stretch preload.
Equations have been derived to describe the deflection of a circular membrane under both in-plane and transverse loads. More specifically, the equations describe the radial (in-plane) and perpendicular-to-the-plane deflections for the case of a circular membrane that has been stretched at its periphery with a uniform preload to keep it taut, then clamped rigidly at its periphery, and then subjected to differential pressure.

This spine/claw-based technology has applications in military
robots that need to climb natural rock surfaces or caves for
reconnaissance purposes, or for revealing buried explosive devices.
A new gripper mechanism can be used
as an end effector for a long arm that
reaches out from a nearby spacecraft for
a touch-and-go type of mission. The gripper
would stabilize the arm and allow
samples to be collected and in situ science
to be done from a fixed platform. In
the long term, this style of gripper could
even be used as handholds for astronauts
trying to move about on/near small asteroids.
The prototype developed has
demonstrated a 120 N gripping force,
and improvements continue to be made.

This tool also has application in the medical industry in the removal of tissue samples or tumors
from the body.
It would be desirable to acquire rock
and/or ice samples that extend below
the surface of the parent rock or ice in
extraterrestrial environments such as the
Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids. Such
samples would allow measurements to be
made further back into the geologic history
of the rock, providing critical insight
into the history of the local environment
and the solar system. Such samples could
also be necessary for sample return mission
architectures that would acquire
samples from extraterrestrial environments
for return to Earth for more
detailed scientific investigation.

Features include reduction in flex wear, streamlining of robotic structures, survivability, and
uniformity in handling various types of servos.
The design of machines that rely on
arrays of servomotors such as robotic
arms, orbital platforms, and combinations
of both, imposes a heavy computational
burden to coordinate their
actions to perform coherent tasks. For
example, the robotic equivalent of a person
tracing a straight line in space
requires enormously complex kinematics
calculations, and complexity increases
with the number of servo nodes. The
conventional method of executing these
calculations is with a PC-style set of electronics
including a powerful CPU (central
processing unit) microprocessor,
operating system, power supply, a number
of peripherals, connectors to support
each servo node, and a web of startopology
wiring across the machine
(including flexing joints), generally
exceeding 100 conductors. In industry,
the most common implementation is
one or more dedicated PC cards mounted
on an ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture), PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), or VME bus.
These cards provide the I/O connectors
and supplement the CPU to execute the
massive kinematic calculations in real
time.

Design replaces existing pressure-actuated lift-off seals in turbopumps and eliminates low
pressure drains, thereby increasing overall efficiency.
This invention is a magnetically actuated
seal in which either a single electromagnet,
or multiple electromagnets, are
used to control the seal’s position. This
system can either be an open/close type
of system or an actively controlled system.

Question of the Week

This week's Question: This month, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed long-awaited rules on the commercial use of small drones, requiring operators to be certified, fly only during daylight, and keep their aircraft in sight. The ruling,...